Saudi Arabia’s General Security Opens Up Employment for Women for First Time

This is the latest in series of measures initiated this year in the Kingdom that are particularly aimed at empowering women

RIYADH, February 26 (CIC) – Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Public Security has opened up employment for women in the Kingdom in military-rank jobs for the first time ever.

“The General Directorate of Public Security announces military jobs for females at the rank of soldier,” the directorate, which is part of the Ministry of Interior, said in an advert on its official Twitter account on Sunday.

The online application process will be open until Thursday. The jobs are available in the regions of Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Al Qaseem, Asir, Al Baha, and the Eastern Province.

Applicants should be native-born and raised Saudis (with the exception of those who lived abroad with their fathers due to a government job), be of good standing, between the ages of 25 to 35 with a high school diploma or its equivalent and must pass entrance exams and interviews and a medical examination.

A series of reforms initiated this year in the Kingdom was particularly aimed at empowering women, including a landmark decree in September by King Salman allowing women to drive from June 2018. The country’s Vision 2030 roadmap for the future, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to increase the percentage of women in the workforce.

In January, the General Directorate of Passports (GDP) said that it had received an overwhelming response to a job advertisement for women to work in airports and land-border crossings, when 107,000 women applied against 140 vacancies advertised. The directorate’s website was visited more than 600,000 times, especially to check on the job vacancies.

Earlier this month, the Kingdom’s Public Prosecution Office said that it would recruit women as investigators for the first time. The applicants should be Saudi citizens, be of good standing and be a holder of a degree in Sharia or information technology, from one of the Kingdom’s colleges or its equivalent.

The move by the Public Prosecution follows an announcement in January by the Ministry of Justice that it plans to recruit 300 women as social researchers, administrative assistants, Islamic jurisprudence researchers and legal researchers. This is the first time in the history of the Kingdom that such a plan has been announced. The selection will be done through an exam and the qualification required for these positions is a master’s degree in relevant areas of study. Those who qualify will be employed in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.